Assignment:
For the third reading report, the assignment focuses on the case study contained within Chapter, "Semi-Independent Agencies". There is no lecture for this chapter, as the material is light and self-evident and has a strong focus on statistics and totals; in other words, there shouldn't be a need for an auxiliary lecture on this chapter. If you have trouble understanding any of the concepts in this chapter, feel free to e-mail me before constructing your report.
For this assignment, after reading the chapter and the case study, you should write a short report about a non-city special local government with which you are familiar, or become familiar with for this assignment. After reading the chapter, you should be able to define what a non-city special local government is, but examples may be: water or sewer districts; water or sewer authorities; park authorities; port authorities; transit authorities; fire districts; ETC. The government unit you select must have some type of significant independent authority, such as the ability to extend or deny water or sewer; set transit rates or extend transit lines; regulate maritime traffic; ETC. It must also have an independent board or council that can either be elected or appointed by other units of government.
After selecting your level of government, write a short report addressing the following:
1. The name, location, and general function of the body of government - what does it do? how is it governed? does it have employees? ETC.
2. Criticisms or accolades received/perceived about the level of government - its transparency of governance, democratic process for governing, etc.
3. The government's relationship with other units of government, the state, and/or the federal government - good, bad, ugly, whatever.
4. Your opinion of the government unit based on your personal experience with the organization (preferred) or based on the preponderance of evidence you collected regarding the level of government.
HINT: This assignment will be easy if you select a special local government with which you are already familiar. With tens of thousands of special districts throughout the United States, everyone should be able to identify one or two organizations that have had some effect on your life - maybe it's where you get your water from, or who shows up when you call 911.
Don't forget to adhere to all writing guidelines (refer back to the syllabus if you need more information) and to turn in your assignment on time!